Alan Caruba's blog is a daily look at events, personalities, and issues from an independent point of view. Copyright, Alan Caruba, 2015. With attribution, posts may be shared. A permission request is welcome. Email acaruba@aol.com.

Friday, October 12, 2012

A Most Obnoxious Biden

By Alan Caruba

The Biden-Ryan debate will be the subject of millions of
words written and spoken, but, if remembered at all will likely be remembered
for Vice President Biden’s obnoxious behavior. One was reminded of the
Bush-Gore debate of 2000, but Biden's behavior went beyond Gore’s boorish sighing
and pacing.

Those with any familiarity with the issues knows, too, that
Biden lied on several occasions. Early on in the discussion of Iran, Biden said
“There is no weapon at this point.” Assuming he was referring to enriched
uranium capable of being weaponized, he’s right, but Iran possesses any number
of missiles to which a nuclear warhead could be fitted. Thus, it is mostly semantics
as to when “now” is. Sanctions have not worked to deter the weaponization
process and most guesstimates put it within a few months; perhaps early spring.
To suggest there is no weapon may be technically correct, but it is still
deceptive.

Biden’s assertion that Mitt Romney “had no commitment to jobs”
despite his career as an investment capitalist who was instrumental in building
into companies with many job was also deceptive and, of course, Romney’s main
campaign theme has been jobs.

Biden also dodged an early question about Libya and the
Benghazi attack that cost the lives of the U.S. ambassador and three others,
saying “We did not know they needed more security there”—an outright
lie--blaming the intelligence initially received and then employing the scare
tactic—something he did throughout—saying “The last thing we need now is
another war.” Sometimes you get a war whether you want one or not and the
Middle East is replete with that potential.

Ryan retained his composure throughout, but some
observers thought he was too deferential to the Vice President. Better that
than responding in kind to having his opinions dismissed as “malarkey” and “all
that stuff.” Ryan scored points replying that “Sometimes the words come out of
your mouth the wrong way.”

Indeed, whatever Ryan wanted to say was harmed by Biden’s
non-stop interruptions and, at times, by the moderator’s. I often wondered
during the debate if Ryan would ever be allowed to complete a sentence.

Worse, perhaps, was the continuous and inappropriate
laughter of the Vice President, along with what was clearly a great deal of
smirking that suggested his disrespect for Ryan.

What we saw and heard was a repeat of the last nearly
four years of the Obama administration, one incapable of telling the truth and
unwilling to deal with the hard issues whether it was the economy, defense, or
foreign affairs.

Whether it was Afghanistan where our troops, as Ryan
noted, “are less safe” because of the stated withdrawal date and the “green on
blue” attacks, or Syria where Ryan said, “Nobody is proposing to send troops”,
he was constantly having to respond to the straw men and scare tactics of
Biden.

If one actually lasted the full ninety minutes, Ryan had
by far the best closing statement saying “That’s what we get from this
administration—speeches.”

“I never say anything I don’t mean,” said Biden and that
has been his problem as Vice President. He has said so many foolish things it
is hard to take the man seriously.

I doubt the vice presidential debate will have much
effect on the outcome of the election though it may have swayed some “undecided”
and independents who were as offended by Biden’s behavior as I and others were.

7 comments:

IRT Iran not having a "weapon" to use in their uranium:Who is he trying to kid? Building a "shotgun" type of nuke (Hiroshima design) is childs play once you have enough fissile material. As for a delivery system...in a region where people don't mind straping a bomb to themselves and walking into a pizza shop, how difficult would it be to get someone to drive a truck across the border, fly a cargo airplane overhead, or use a boat to deliver the device with a human targetting system?

This debate was the epitome of what we have been subjected to for the last four years: theft, lies and insults. Many have been put off by Romney's choice of campaign demeanor, his laid-back attitude and civility. He chose a VP candidate who fits into this mold. As long as they continue to campaign in this manner, and keep quietly hammering this administration's ineptitude, theft of our taxes and continual lies, there is a good chance that the undecideds and independents will see what they're supposed to see.Let's face it, the funny media savvy and stupid jokes definitely have been sewn up by the troll and his clown. Romney and Ryan will have to try another tack. Reality.

About Me

I am and have been for a long time a writer by profession. I have several books to my credit and my daily column, "Warning Signs", is disseminated on many Internet news and opinion websites, as well as blogs. In addition, I am a longtime book reviewer and have a blog offering a monthly report on new fiction and non-fiction.